New vigour in quest for Higgs boson

August 1, 2012
by Veronique Martinache

A person stands in front of the huge ATLAS detector, one of six detectors that are part of the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva. Credit: Maximilien Brice, CERN

Heartened by a glimpse of what may be the Higgs boson, scientists at the CERN physics lab are smashing particles with new vigour in a quest to understand why matter has mass and other riddles of the natural universe.

Rather than the end of the line, the July 4 unveiling of a boson with Higgs-like characteristics opens new scientific frontiers, enthuse researchers at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva.

The first step is to find irrefutable proof that the particle they found is indeed the Higgs -- known as the God Particle and believed to confer mass.

This would "open a fascinating new field of research", Higgs hunter Bernard Ille told AFP at the LHC, housed in a ring-shaped tunnel 27 kilometres (16.9 miles) long and up to 175 metres (568 feet) below ground.

"The LHC is made to last another twenty-odd years, exactly to allow us to immerse ourselves in this field of research, of which we have barely scratched the surface," said Ille, research director of France's CNRS institute.

Earlier this month, a 50-year search resulted in physicists announcing they found a particle "consistent" with the Higgs -- a milestone in Man's understanding of the natural world.

Confirming the existence of Higgs would validate the Standard Model of physics, a theory that identifies the building blocks of matter and the particles that convey fundamental forces.

The LHC comprises four huge labs along the Swiss-French border, two of which focus on the Higgs search -- CMS and Atlas.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (left) visits the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), near Geneva, on July 30. Heartened by a glimpse of what may be the Higgs boson, scientists at the CERN physics lab are smashing particles with new vigour in a quest to understand why matter has mass and other riddles of the natural universe.

The grand scale of the CMS, 15 metres in diameter and weighing 14,000 tons, contrasts sharply with the objects of its experiments -- the fundamental and smallest elements of all matter.

Hard to imagine when one is confronted by what appears to be a simple though very large tube, that inside beams of hydrogen protons can shoot at nearly the speed of light in a void similar to that found in outer space.

The CMS and its sister labs detect head-on collisions between the protons which then disintegrate into smaller particles.

The LHC can only be entered when it is in sleep mode, for risk of exposure to radiation emitted by the high-energy bursts.

The final prize for scientists involved in this quest: nothing less than Man's understanding of the Universe.

Today, physicists at the LHC are piling up collisions and statistics they hope will confirm the Higgs' existence and shed some light on its nature.

"Once we understand this, there are many other avenues that open up because the boson itself posed a serious theoretical problem," said Yves Sirois, one of the CMS' directors.

"Truly, it opens the door to a new level of physics" -- understanding such physics mind-benders as supersymmetry.

"It is likely that by raising the energy levels in the LHC in a few years we shall be capable of discovering dark matter," said Sirois.

Dark matter is believed to comprise 83 percent of matter in the Universe but cannot be detected by the naked eye.

The four LHC labs are used by some 10,000 scientists from around the world.

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Actually CERN released a new data about Higgs boson related search recently. The existence of new particle is now confirmed with statistical significance 5.9 sigma, which is essentially a certainty for both laymans, both most of experts.

You should note though, that the CERN is careful to not to talk about Higgs boson or "higgson". Which is somewhat strange in the light of recent ceremonial announcement of Higgs boson finding. But IMO CERN knows very well, what he does in this matter.

You should note though, that the CERN is careful to not to talk about Higgs boson or "higgson". Which is somewhat strange in the light of recent ceremonial announcement of Higgs boson finding.

They talk about a particle which fits with the energy range where the Higgs boson is to be expected. This is the standard, guarded way of making such an announcement. Now it's all about producing these bosons and measuring their properties. (Theoretically it still could be something else entirely different. The Higgs boson shoule have characteristic spin and interaction properties - which some of the other channels are still in the process of studying). Only the simplest Higgs theory predicts just one boson. There could be many types - and this is the reason why they haven't gone out of their way to proclaim that they have found THE Higgs boson.

The (almost) 6 sigma means its definitely a discovery of smoething. What it is a discovery of is still being explored.

"It is likely that by raising the energy levels in the LHC in a few years we shall be capable of discovering dark matter," said Sirois.

really based on what evidence... This is the holy grail of cosmology and astrophysics... and you are just now suggesting this is true -- or are you trying to keep the hype alive like a boxing promoter? Don King is less specualtive

Dead on man, dead on.These narcissist and or incompetent journalists I tell ya they are a plague. News is suppose to present new facts. Who in their right mind writes an article that says: "Yes, researchers are still hard at work to verify higgs" Are you on drugs?

The first step is to find irrefutable proof that the particle they found is indeed the Higgs -- known as the God Particle and believed to confer mass. ."It is likely that by raising the energy levels in the LHC in a few years we shall be capable of discovering dark matter," said Sirois.

By the way, up to now it seems that (almost) all of us are sick with conventional interpretation of Higgs field/boson and dark energy/matter. May be this unconventional explanation could tell that both of them are the same thing vacuum medium.http://www.vacuum...mid=9=en

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